US Troops in S.Korea Confirmed to Be Decreased

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, June 26, 2003

US Troops in S.Korea Confirmed to Be Decreased

The 37,000 US troops stationed in South Korea will be reduced, a top US military official was quoted by South Korean national news agency Yonhap News as saying on Thursday.

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The 37,000 US troops stationed in South Korea will be reduced, a top US military official was quoted by South Korean national news agency Yonhap News as saying on Thursday.

"Both governments have agreed to relocate the bulk of the US Yongsan Garrison and to reposition the US 2nd Infantry Division," said Lt. Gen. Charles Campbell, commander of the US Eighth Army.

During a seminar on the role of the US military held in Seoul he said "Some reduction in force will accompany these moves," but did not revealed any further details.

His remarks are the first official confirmation that the UnitedStates will decrease its military presence in the Korean Peninsular.

Previously, Seoul and Washington agreed in military talks to relocate the US troops' headquarters in Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul and the 2nd Infantry Division located near the inter-Korean border as soon as possible.

The United States Forces Korea (USFK) appear likely to embark on the relocation process of the Yongsan base from here to the neighboring Gyeonggi Province later this year. Moves to reduce US troop numbers are likely to be made along with the realignment of the 2nd Infantry Division, reported Yonhap.

Campbell added that the South Korean-US bilateral military relationship is entering an era of realignment, noting that the land partnership plan (LPP) agreed upon between the two countries last year has given rise to the most significant changes in the USmilitary in the Asian country in several decades.

Under the plan, the USFK will reduce the number of major installations in South Korea from 41 to 23 and return roughly 50 percent of the land it currently uses, equivalent to some 135 million square meters, to the South Korea by 2011.

The commander said the plan has increased US readiness and improved training while reducing the overall US "footprint" in South Korea substantially, adding that Seoul will afford the construction costs needed in repositioning the US bases.

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